Horseback Riding ...

I do the craziest things in Japan.
So most of my family, especially Elizabeth, knows that I am not fond of horses. To me they are kind of like the monkeys, meant to be admired from afar not up close and personal. My adorable cousin Elizabeth is a horse professional (that's what they would say in Japan) and I have gone to the stables with her to do what she does there. Feed and groom her horse and whatnot. One time we went out in the pasture to get her horse and I found myself surrounded by these huge (rather unfriendly looking) horses in outrageous numbers. Ok, really there was maybe 10, but still. They were so close to us and so massive. I became terrified and then instantly convinced that horses could sense fear. Elizabeth reassured me that the horses were friendly and there was no reason to be afraid (as shes whacking horses to prevent them from trampling us) and she even points out an 'adorable little baby horsey'. Sure the horse is less intimidating considering it is half the size of the others, but I'm still not seeing the 'adorable'. It wasn't until I got close enough to pet it that it snapped at me and attempted to take a chunk out of my neck. That's right, I got bit by the horse. Playful, gently, whatever. It was enough to scare me out of the pasture and make me not want to return.

So why the hell did I agree to go horseback riding? I have no idea. In theory the idea sounded decent. What else was I going to do at 7:00am on a Sunday morning, besides the obvious sleeping? Xiao got us tickets for one riding lesson and, like a trooper, I hopped on the horse-riding train.

Our lessons were scheduled at Crane Horse Riding Club. Similar to Kindred Spirits?

It wasn't until I got there and began realizing the reality of the situation that I became slightly uneasy. My smile is quite forced.

After signing our lives away on a bunch of forms (really I have no idea what the forms were for as they were in Japanese), we headed down to the locker room to get suited up.

No idea what this horse is trying to say ...
Our instructor thought we were hilarious. Did I mention he doesn't speak English? That's right, I'm taking my first horse riding lesson from an instructor who only speaks Japanese.

Getting strapped up ...
"I think I might die today so I'm going to pull these straps extra tight" was exactly what I was saying.
All ready to go and none of us can stop laughing. We look far too ridiculous. Not to mention under the rib-protecting vests (as Xiao called them), the coats and scarfs, we all are wearing about three shirts because it is 9:00am and it is freezing. We are also wearing a couple pairs of pants & 3 pairs of socks. It's kind of like when you go sledding back home. Not flattering for photos, but completely necessary.

Me in my get up ... I think the helmet was my favorite part.

My and my horse. I chose the one I thought looked the most tame. I wasn't taking any chances with a wild horse.

Yep, that's right. That's me on a horse.

Somehow through the language barrier I learned how to saddle the horse up, how to get on & how to kick. The instructor's broken English kept telling me to relax and that the horse, "Is no automatic. Kick!" Which was his way of telling me how to make the horse move. Little did he know I was completely content with just sitting on the horse and going nowhere.

Finally we started moving. We walked around for a while so I could get a 'good feeling' for the horse. It wasn't until he made the horse move a faster that I accidentally let a four letter word (beginning with s) slip. Obviously my instructor knew some English because he eyes got big and he about died laughing while saying, "Tara-san you is funny." He could tell I wasn't particularly fond of the horse.

We walked, we trotted, and finally I got up the courage to 'run'. We weren't necessarily running at top speed, but it felt like we were going awfully fast. He taught me how to control the horse with the reigns and with my legs and after an hour I was more than happy to dismount.


All in all, it was good. I can't say that I'll be making frequent trips to the stables and I didn't jump at the chance to sign up for weekly lessons, but if we talk about going again, I'm in. I always am. That's how I get myself into this stuff in the first place.

much love
-tara-
xoxo

My Birthday ...

So I turned the big 25 in Japan. Many of my friends know that back home I celebrate my birthday for one full week. That's right, 7 days of celebrating myself. A week full of friends, family, cake, cards, flowers, love. You know, the whole shabang. I knew it would be slightly different this year.

It was different, but it was great. The schools that I work for gave me the cutest birthday presents and the teachers that I give lessons to gave me cards and candy. Some of my children that I give private lessons to wrote me birthday messages and the kitchen even made me a small 'birthday snack' at one of my schools. Since I go to a different school everyday, this lasted for 5 days. Almost a full week long celebration. :)

The night of my birthday Amanda and I went to dinner at a restaurant we had been to before. When we walked in Amanda made sure to tell everybody it was my tanjobi (Japanese for birthday). Let me tell you ... Applebee's has nothing on these people. Amanda got the whole thing on video for your enjoyment.



I was amazed by this sweet birthday dessert.

Amanda and I enjoying our evening. & Yes my hair is black. I don't know about it yet....
Birthday dinner. Can anyone believe that I'm 25 really?

Besides the general fact that I'm now 25, I don't have any complaints this year. My birthday was great. I got a hilarious card from my mom, a sweet present from Matt, lots of love in my mailbox (& my inbox) & two packages still waiting for me at the post office, and lots of "Tanjobi Omedato", which I believe is happy birthday in Japanese. (I should check into that).

Don't think I wouldn't give up all the material things in the world for time with all of you, because I would in a heartbeat, but everyone knows my excitement over deliveries from the postman.

much love
-tara-
xoxo

The Final Bus Tour in the Trilogy ...

Kyoto & Osaka Bus Trip

Part Ichi

Another Saturday, another bus tour. Amanda and I were invited to go to Kyoto and Osaka with a large group of teachers from a couple of our schools. I'm beginning to think that the school staff does this kind of thing regularly. I think it's great. We knew this was going to be an overnight trip, so we packed accordingly and headed out (on our bikes) at 7:30am. (Notice I'm not even complaining about having to wake up at 6:30? I'm used to it after 3 of things).

So when we boarded the bus we got a couple bottles of water & a whole sack full of Japanese snacks. We're off to a good start.
On our first bus trip the seats were small & Amanda and I were all over each other. On our second bus the seats were slightly bigger and we were a tiny bit more comfortable. On this bus Amanda and I got the celebrity treatment & didn't have to share our seats. That's right - two seats to ourselves.

The whole crew ...
So the bus leaves right on time - 8:00am - & we notice that we have an adorable tour guide. She's wearing the uniform, carrying the flag & has a cute little hat on. There was only one bad thing about her ... She wouldn't shut up. She literally talked the entire time. The whole two hours to Osaka she talked and talked and talked ...

We couldn't exactly sleep with all of the tour guiding going on so we found ways to pass the time. We ate Japanese snacks, Amanda was foolish enough to eat the dried squid (compliments on Misaki), and we got out the video camera.

Eenie, meenie, miney, mo.
Amanda being foolish & eating the unknown. & She wonders why I would try it ...
We also decided to interview our friends Masami and Mayaka. Their English isn't the best, but they are so cute. (I'll post the video later)

We made a conbini stop (a Japanese convenience store) and got some food & coffee and continued on. We made it to our first stop - a temple in Kyoto - in a little over two hours.
In true Japanese form we had to back the bus in (everyone backs in everywhere here) & this little cute lady's job was to direct the buses, similar to that of a runway.
We begin the hike up the mountain where the temple & lunch are waiting. One of the first things we notice is the scenery. The gardens surrounding the temple are absolutely beautiful and since it is Autumn season the leaves are changing colors and the weather is good. Everything was gorgeous.
Of course I took way too many pictures.

Koi, right? Wrong! Japanese carp.

Ayaka drinking some gross looking tea on top of the mountain at the temple. "Tara, try?" No thank you.
Masaki taking a break from all the climbing. We definitely got our workout for the week.
The flowers were amazing & huge. The plants were over five feet tall & the flowers were the size of my head, not joking!
We bought fortunes at temple and Amanda bought me a love fortune. The fortune is suppose to bring your true love into your life, or something like that. I don't know if I'm a believer but it's cultural. :)
You can also buy your own fortune. If it is bad you must tie it on a rack and leave it at the temple. Some of our friends didn't have the best fortunes. Sorry about your luck ladies...

Ok, so we make it to lunch. Traditional Japanese lunch. Between the hiking, our Japanese snacks, the conbini food and lack of breakfast, Amanda and I are hungry. We had no idea what to expect.
The presentation of our lunch was amazing. It was served to us in this jewelry box type thing and we were suppose to eat from the bottom up. Some of the drawers I opened and quickly closed, not even touching what was inside.
Think any of this looks appealing?
How about now?
A little bit closer now ... Hungry yet? (& yes that's some sort of grass, tofu, a radish of some sort & that speckled thing was some sort of fish or other sea creature, despite what it looks like.)
A close up of all three of our surprises. All raw, all cold, all not ideal.
Amanda was playing with our shrimp who I swear was alive ten minutes before this lunch. He was found in drawer number two with his other raw friends.
But when in Rome ....All of our group eating lunch together ... sitting Indian style. I mean Japanese style. :)
My precious Ayaka ate all of her food. I'm the bad kid in the family because I didn't eat all of mine. But don't worry - I didn't want dessert anyway :)

stay tuned for part two
much love
-tara-
xoxo

Osaka Bus Tour ...

After spending one Saturday on a bus to Awaji Island, we were invited on another bus tour, only this time heading to Osaka. I'd been sick the week leading up to the bus tour, but I put on a smile, packed some cough drops and off we went.

So last weekend Amanda and I had to get up at 5:30am for our bus tour. For this bus tour we were able to sleep in ... until 6:30!! I have never got up so early on two consecutive Saturdays in my almost 25 years of life. I just know it. It's not possible. I am not a morning person and I hate waking up when it's still dark outside, but when in Rome ...

This time Amanda and I had to wake up, get ready and then bike to the train station to catch the 7:20 train. Kazuyo (one of my principals) picked us up at the train station and took us to the school where we would be departing from. This bus was slightly smaller than our bus last weekend, but it resembled more of a party bus with neon lights, lots of speakers, and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Although at 8:00am, no one was partying.

The bus left right on time and Amanda and I were asleep in no time. This bus was slightly more comfortable than the last and, although it wasn't ideal, we were able to quickly fall asleep. I've never been more thankful for my ipod. Without it I would have had to listen to Shrek dubbed in Japanese the entire time. Instead I was able to fall asleep listening to my favorites.

We got to Osaka in no time and the group split up. Some of the teachers brought their children and were going to USJ - Universal Studios Japan, while the rest of us were going to lunch and shopping.

We went to a large, upscale department store first. We got there before the shops actually opened and everything was roped off and there were guards all over. At exactly 11:00 the bell sounded and the guards moved the ropes and escorted everyone up the escalator. Kind of strange, kind of cool.

We shopped, or window shopped anyway, at Hermes, Prada, Chanel, Gucci & then Louis Vuitton. I fell in love with a handbag I'd give my left arm for. Maybe it's a good thing I left all my credit cards back in America. :)
Louis and I are in a long term relationship. Have been for the last three years. :)
After shopping around we went to lunch at the Hilton Plaza. We ate lunch on the 35th floor of the Hilton at the Skye Lounge.

The inside of the Skye Lounge. It was all windows, lots of glass, and very ritzy.
My sweet friends Megumi & Yuka. They are so cute.Half of our group... Amanda and I fit right in, right?Osaka, from 35 floors up.The food was amazing, which is a huge change from what we usually eat. We could order whatever we wanted and there was an unlimited supply. We didn't have to pay (our teachers paid for us) but we were pretty sure lunch was something like 5,000 yen a person, which is roughly $50.
My friend Miki, complaining that she ate too much. Just like Grandpa :)After lunch we had a few hours to go shopping. Amanda and I hit the streets of Osaka and made our way to the Hello Kitty store. Three floors of everything that is Hello Kitty. Amanda was in heaven and I wanted to vomit. :)

After our shopping we ventured back to the bus. Sometimes I have no idea how we get from point A to point B. Amanda and I are wandering around a city with 3.7 million people and still managed to make it back to the right bus, and on time (if you believe that).

Everyone boarded the bus with an excessive amount of shopping bags and all of the children were talking excitedly about their trip to USJ. My beautiful Sayaka had her face painted and it made me think of when my brother, sister and I would get our faces painted. Am I still allowed to get my face painted if I'm almost 25?
After winding down and sharing all of our purchases with everyone I managed to get my headphones on just as yet another Japanese dubbed Disney movie started. Yet another long, but exciting Saturday bus tour.

much love
-tara-
xoxo